The Red Square

Before I made it Moscow, I knew the one thing I had to see before anything else: the infamous Red Square. My friends swore by it, my grandparents praised it, I knew it would be amazing. As my roommate guided me out of the metro to the café where we’d meet her friends for lunch, she casually turned around and pointed. “Oh, and there’s the Red Square.”

Turns out that although the name is appropriate (it is a square after all), what I expected ended up being confused by the number of sights of interest. There’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Tomb, Gum Mall, not to mention the Kremlin, which stretches out in all directions, it’s difficult to know quite where it begins or ends. Oddly enough this time of year there’s an ice skating rink in the middle, that seems somewhat artificial and bizarre in the middle of such impressive buildings. Next to it there’s a very artificial Christmas tree, that seems very dwarfed in such a huge space. Like everywhere else I have been in the past few days, loud Russian music is played all day long from some intercom hidden somewhere.

I think it’s going to take me years to discover this place! As Kirsten walked me around we managed to arrive just in time to see the changing of the guards for the Kremlin. Although they have thick coats and those awesome fur coats, I really can’t imagine a more difficult job than standing still, outside, in Moscow for any period of time. It didn’t take us long to run indoors again, to the GUM, which is one of the more elaborate shopping centers I’ve seen. Even though it’s a shopping mall, and I hate shopping, at least it’s warm.

A friend of mine and I discovered a beautiful chapel in the square as well, to make up for the fact that St Basil’s was closed for renovation. We had good timing too, as they had just started an evening mass. Never having been in a Russian Orthodox church before, I realize now that my grandmother was right: they don’t sit! What’s more, attendees must bow and perform hail Mary’s every few seconds. And yet, as the priest chanted, and the four part choir sang, as I inhaled the incense I was awed by the beauty of the church walls, and music that was reaching my ears. It’s not every day you hear musicians in perfect tune, with perfect harmony, nor do you get to see such beautiful murals on the walls. As we walked back into the bitter cold, I felt a little warmer, inspired by this new home of mine.